Strawberries and Cream
by Jade Rotaski Queen of the Damned
Summary: Othis is my firs ever One-shot, Yes it's a death fic but its happy to...sort of Shounen ai between Ash and Gary ratinf just in case! Enjoy!


Hey everyone! XP. Okay this is my one shot Yaoi angst fic that Ive been working on for around about 6 months now, trying to get it right and stuff, but it's done now, I don't own any pokemon stuff bar a poster and 4 games and I don't own Evenesance's song Imaginary, either so back off lawsuits! :) Enjoy!

Strawberries and Cream

/I linger in the doorway.../

"ASH!" Misty cried helplessly as she ran out of the front door, watching the rapidly retreating figure desperately, as it disappeared into the distance. The red headed water trainer made a move to go after him, but both Brock and Tracy, who had followed her outside, placed restraining hands on her shoulders. "Let him go Misty, he needs some time alone" Misty sighed sadly and nodded, tears falling down her face, Brock and Tracy looked at once another, before the two embraced her in a hug.

/Alarm clocks screaming, monsters calling my name.../

"Everything will be alright Mist, Ash just needs to let it all sink in..." Tracy whispered, tears falling down his face, the Pokemon artist didn't need to look at Brock to know that he was crying too. Slowly, the three collapsed on the porch outside the house, crying together, seeking comfort from each other...

Ash ran, he ran and ran, not stopping no matter what, he needed to get away from everything and everyone, he needed to think, be away from all the pain, the sympathetic looks, from all the memories...

/... Let me stay, where the wind will whisper to me.../

The young trainer tripped, falling over a tree root, and collapsed on the ground, panting, he couldn't move, he felt so tired...Then heavens opened up and the rain came down upon Ash Ketchum as he lay there, hurt, cold and all alone. Ash gasped and painfully made himself sit up, his tears mingling with the rain drops splattering onto his face.

/...And the raindrops as they're falling tell a story.../

The Pokemon trainer winced as he moved his arm; there was a deep cut there, and Ash had only just noticed his blood running from the wound. The dark haired boy dragged himself to his feet to go back home, only to collapse at the base of a large Oak tree, he lay there, exhausted, eyes screwed up in pain, both mentally and physically, before he fell fast asleep...

/In my field of paper flowers/

/and candy clouds of lullaby/

/I lie inside myself for hours/

/and watch my purple sky fly over me.../

No one could believe it had happened, no one had let it sunk in, and everyone refused to believe that all of this was happening...

/...They say I'm out of touch.../

Professor Oak, was hit the worst out of everyone bar Ash, Gary Oak was his only living relative, now there was no one that could help him, no one there to care for him or the Pokemon or take over when he was gone, no one there for the professor to care for. Professor Oak was hit badly indeed, ever since he heard the news, he hadn't said a word, just cried silently the tears falling freely from his face; some people's pain is so great can't be shown through words, and Prof Oak was one of those people.

/...With this rampant chaos-your reality/

"Does...Does anyone want any more tea?" Delia Ketchum asked gently breaking the already fragile silence, no one answered, but Tracy and Brock nodded holding out there cups as the stayed near the fire, wrapped in blankets; Delia had forced them to come back inside as soon as it started raining, but now she was worried about Ash, he'd been gone for 15 minutes now since the rain started. 'Please come back Ash, don't you leave us too...' Delia squeezed her eyes shut at her thoughts and sat down, silence reigning in the living room once more...

/...I know now what lies beyond my sleeping refuge.../

Ash woke up with a start, rubbing his eyes tiredly, and sitting up slowly. He couldn't remember falling asleep...Ash looked around the forest and remembered what had happened, he curled into a ball, wanting to cry, but having no more tears to shed, he just gasped, as the pain, tightened around his chest. 'I wish it was all a dream...'

/...The nightmare built my own world to escape.../

((It's not Ash...)) Ash's head snapped up in surprise that voice...it sounded like...Gary? Ash shook his head in disbelief 'don't be stupid Ash' The dark haired boy told himself harshly 'Gary is dead, he'd been missing and dead for a week... before they even found him...'

((Ash...)) Ash shook his head rapidly, refusing to believe that it was Gary's voice, he was just imagining things. Ash shook his head his eyes closed tight, his hands clamped over his ears. 'No it's not Gary, Gary is...Is dead, DEAD! He died falling from Mt silver...

((Ash...look at me...)) Ash refused to look up it was all his imagination ((Please)) the voice pleaded Ash shook his head and shivered slightly as his body adjusted to the cold 'No Ash it's just you imagining things! I will not look up I will NOT look up...

Ash felt his chin being lifted by force, and Ash stared at the figure that was knelt in front of him, smiling sadly. Ash stared for a moment, and he blinked, once, twice not even daring, or even beginning to believe it, never believing, for one moment that Gary Oak was in knelt front of him...

Then he screamed, or he would have if Gary's ghost hadn't clapped a hand around his mouth ((Ash! Shh! It's me...)) Ash struggled for a moment refusing to believe...then he stopped and gasped, his eyes still wide; the ghost of Gary smirked at him, happily, glad Ash recognized him. ((Glad to see me Squirt?))

/...In my field of paper flowers/

/And candy clouds of lullaby/

/I lie inside myself for hours/

/and watch my purple sky fly over me.../

Delia was worried, no scratch that, she was worse than worried, she was frantic, and Ash had been missing for almost and hour now, and he still hadn't come home. "Mrs Ketchum! You can't go out there, a serious storm is brewing out there and you could get hurt!" Misty cried, her light yellow towel falling from around her shoulders and dropping to the floor. Delia Ketchum didn't answer as she grabbed her thick brown coat and put it on. "I'm sorry Misty, but I have to! We've all lost Gary... we all cared for him...and we all care for Ash too, and there is no way that I'm going to lose someone else I love today!" And with that desperate cry, Delia ran out the door, a torch in her hands, and leaving Misty stunned in the hallway.

Tracy looked at Brock, and the two exchanged a look. "Mist, If she doesn't come back in half and hour we'll go looking for her okay?" Misty turned rather stiffly and nodded walking back into the living room and sitting down; meanwhile Pikachu was staring out of the Living room window, waiting...

"Pikachu?" Brock said to the little mouse Pokemon, Pikachu's ears twitched, meaning that he had heard Brock, but still didn't move. "Look Pikachu, Delia will bring Ash back, I'm sure he's okay" Pikachu turned his head to look at Brock and sighed, before he gave the rock trainer a 'Do you really believe that?' look. The rock trainer just sighed and sat back down on the sofa hoping that what he had said would be true. Pikachu sighed sadly, before the little mouse Pokemon turned his head back to the window, watching and waiting.

Ash blinked, there he was, in all his glory...no, not all his glory, he was stood there, transparent smiling at Ash sadly ((You know, even I didn't think you'd go as far as to blame yourself for my death Ash)) The dark haired trainer blinked again, not saying anything as Gary moved his hand from Ash's mouth and replaced it with his lips. Ash squirmed; Gary's lips were as cold as ice, but Gary pressed on, deepening the kiss, warming his lips up slightly, and soon Ash gave in and melted into the kiss.

Then Gary parted and Ash was gasping for breath, his lips almost frozen from the kiss, Gary just smiled at him and stroked a transparent thumb over Ash's already frozen cheek. ((Stop blaming yourself Ash, It was my own dumb fault to go to Mt silver. Not yours, you didn't want me to go, remember? Because you couldn't be with me...))

/Flashback/

"MT SILVER! WITHOUT ME!!!" Ash cried in shock, nearly jumping up from his bed, only just stopping in time to stop his sprained and twisted ankle form hitting the floor. Gary sighed and shook his head in disbelief as he gently picked up Ash's leg and placed it back on the bed. "Ash, listen, I really want you to come to but...well maybe It'd be better if I did this alone...I mean...I want you to come with me Ash...but I need to do this on my own...I want to become as strong as you..." Ash blinked, and then he smiled and shook his head.

"You ALWAYS want to become as strong as me Gary, you haven't changed at all since we became a couple, and you promised you would!" Gary looked hurt and put a hand on his heart as thought he was mortally offended; Ash resisted the urge to burst out laughing "Me? Not keep a promise? Ah! My heart is dying before me!" Then Gary promptly collapsed on the floor with a dull thud, Ash peered over the bed to see Gary twitching involuntary, as though his was having a fit, but Gary had a huge grin on his face too, and this time Ash burst into a fit of giggles.

Gary laughed with him and got up from the floor to sit down next to Ash's bed again "Listen Ash, I'll only be there for a month, I'll get back as soon as I can! I promise" Ash smiled then nodded before the two kissed gently, they would have gone on too, if there hadn't been a knock on the door, and some all to familiar voices...

"Hey! You two love birds done in there yet"

'WHAP!!' "Brock, give them some privacy!"

"Misty! OWWW! Stop hitting me with your mallet!"

Gary and Ash took one looked at one another and burst out laughing again as the two trainers entered, Misty looking Livid, Brock nursing a deflated err...ego! (LMAO!) Gary snorted, but managed to keep his laughter down, As Misty and Brock sat at the bottom of Ash's bed. "So how's the ankle? Are you two still planning on going to Mt Silver?" Ash sighed and shook his head.

"I'm not going, but Gary is, I mean I can't with my ankle but Gary will go" Misty smiled and nodded at the two while Brock frowned, he seemed to be awfully worried about something. "I don't know...Maybe you should wait until Ash gets better Gary, a mean, your supposed to go up in pairs now anyway because it's so dangerous..." Ash shook his head and held Gary's hand squeezing it tight.

"Gary will be fine, I want him to go I really do, besides it'll only be a month..." Gary sighed and smiled; He knew Ash was covering up his disappointment and worry with a smile, and Gary made a mental note to talk about it with Ash later.

As soon as Misty and Brock left, Gary turned to Ash and kissed him on the forehead "Stop worrying about me I'll be fine, and Ill bring you something good back from there" Ash blinked in surprise before he smiled in disbelief.

"How do you do that? You always know when I'm happy or worried or sad, no matter how much I cover it up..." Ash leaned into Gary's embrace and the two were silent for a moment "...We fit don't we Gary? We fit together like strawberries and cream..." Gary laughed and nodded holding Ash a little tighter.

"Yeah I guess we do..."

#End Flashback#

((You see Ash? None of this was your fault, I want because I thought I could handle it on my own, truth is I couldn't, that isn't your fault...)) Ash shook his head, he was shivering all over, he could hardly speak, his teeth were chattering that much. Gary's ghost knelt down next to him, and touched his cheek gently ((I love you...I always will and Ill always be there right next to you no matter what...)) Ash nodded he finally understood, that that he was not to blame, it was one of life's things, everyone has to die at some point, it had been Gary's time and some point in the future, it would be Ash's. "D...Don't f...forget" Ash whispered, his teeth chattering still as the rain poured down harder, Gary nodded and hugged the freezing boy once more.

((Were like strawberries and cream, we fit together and always have, how can I forget?)) Ash nodded he felt so cold and tired; he wanted to sleep so badly...

"Ash???" That was another voice calling him, maybe it was the gods up in heaven..."Ash? ASH! Keep awake! Oh dear god your freezing!" The Pokemon master cracked open and eye, up into the face of his mother, Delia had flung off her cloak and wrapped it around her son before picking him up, and she was terrified to find that he weighed almost nothing at all.

"...Mom...is...I...it...really...y...you" Delia nodded and tried to smile at her son, but to no avail, she was seriously worried about Ash. Ash seemed too smiled and lay in his mother's arms as he spoke. "I...I...saw...G...Gary mom...H...He...said...t...that h...he...loved me...a...and he'd a...always...w...watch over...m...me..." then his head drooped and he fell asleep. Delia ran as fast as she could back home when she did Misty and Brock were waiting.

"Mrs Ketchum what? Ash! Oh my god what happened!" Misty exclaimed in shock as Delia charged through the living room past Brock, Tracy and Ritchie and laid Ash by the fire to try and warm him up. "I...I don't know, I just found him in Viridian forest, he's freezing...I...I don't know what to do!" Delia burst into tears and both Brock and Tracy had to catch her before she collapsed on the floor, they gently placed her on the settee as Misty tried to comfort her, meanwhile, Professor Oak had gotten up from the couch and was checking Ash over.

Oak looked over Ash, then turned to Delia "Delia, you need to get Ash warmed up and dry now, or he'll die of Hypothermia" Everyone looked at Professor Oak in shock; that had to be the first thing he had said since he heard of Gary's death. Delia controlled her self and nodded. "T...Tell me what I have to do..."

Delia picked up Ash and did exactly as was instructed, and then as soon as Ash was dry she placed him in bed with plenty of extra blankets. Oak checked his pulse and his temperature, while everyone was stood outside the doorway anxiously. Then the Professor left and closed the door. "Well?" Misty said as Delia cried. But in fear or because of all the strain, No one but Delia knew.

Professor Oak smiled a small smile, the first one since Gary's death "He'll be fine Delia, He has a fever, but it should have broken by tomorrow, Keep giving him fluids and some pain killers, and he'll be better in a couple of days" All in one motion everyone physically relaxed. Delia cried out and hugged Professor Oak in relief, while Misty cried on Tracy's shoulder.

Professor Oak was still holding Delia when he suggested they all go down for something to eat and a nice cup of fresh tea. Meanwhile Ash, though wracked with fever, smiled as he dreamed, of him and Gary, of strawberries and Cream...

The end!

So how was it? Did it fill you with emotion? Meh, I wanted a dark fic, yet it has a happy ending, so I came up with this, Everyone makes Ash die in death fics that I've read, soo...I thought it better be Gary this time Please Read and Review I really appreciate it!

Jade Queen of the Damned


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